Go Wander

6 of the Scariest Places on Earth

October 31 is creeping up fast. People seem extra keen to play dress-ups and I’ve noticed a lot of angry-looking pumpkins at the supermarket. Halloween is upon us.

Whether you want to get in the spirit of All Hallows’ Eve or you simply like the freakier things in life, these terrifying attractions might just give you the chills you’re looking for. From haunted houses to abandoned cities and creepy crypts, let’s take a look at some of the scariest places in the world.

Monte Cristo Homestead (Junee, Australia)

Monte Cristo Homestead has a reputation for being Australia’s most haunted house. If the ghosts of its former residents really have stuck around then it’s easy to see why: a little boy burned to death, a maid committing suicide from the verandah, a caretaker shot dead by a local teenager. Ten spirits supposedly wander through the mansion grounds and if you’re keen to get up close and personal, the owners offer Dinner, Bed & Breakfast Tours each Saturday.

Island of the Dolls (Xochimilco, Mexico)

Imagine being in the woods with thousands of dirty, mutilated, decomposing dolls staring at you with their lifeless eyes. It’s like something out of a nightmare, but for Don Julian Santana Barrera, it began as a tribute to a little girl who (allegedly) drowned in the nearby canal. Legend has it he hung the dolls to appease her soul and continued to ‘decorate’ the island until 2001 when he was found – wait for it – floating dead in the canal. Sounds like a really lovely place to visit. Why not make the trek to Isla de las Munecas and add your own toy to the collection?!

Clown Motel (Tonopah, USA)

Clowns were scary as way before Clown Sightings became a thing in 2016 and while The Clown Motel doesn’t tout itself as a creepy crib, sweet dreams are probably few and far between at this place. The lobby is home to hundreds of the smiling figures and each room is dotted with clown paraphernalia to taunt you through the night.

The Abandoned City (Pripyat, Ukraine)

More eerie than scary, the town of Pripyat has been frozen in time since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Almost 50,000 people were evacuated from the city to escape the radiation: toys still lie on the ground, books sit on school desks and the decaying amusement park is silent. Tours of the site are available even though the town won’t be habitable for 20,000 years. Go figure.

Paris Catacombs (Paris, France)

Fancy a stroll through a labyrinth of darkened tunnels surrounded by the bones of six million people? The City of Love’s macabre underbelly became the final resting place for millions of Parisians after their original final resting place – the cemeteries – became overcrowded. The massive burial chamber stretches over 300km but only 1.5km is open to the public. People who illegally explore the outer crypts and tunnels are known as Cataphiles, which sounds pretty nasty. Might be best just to book an official tour.

Spookers (South Auckland, New Zealand)

I pity the fool who goes to Spookers thinking they’re in for a tame night at a tarted up theme park. For starters, it’s set on the land of a former psychiatric hospital renowned as one of the most haunted locations in New Zealand. Then there’s the fact their attractions are rated R16+. Think running through a corn field being chased by a chainsaw-wielding psychopath and coming face-to-face with a cannibal doctor in the haunted house. Oh, there’s also this…